Frazer Harrison/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- The family of Junior Seau has filed a lawsuit against the NFL on Wednesday. They claim the former linebacker's suicide was the result of a brain disease that was caused by years of violent hits while playing 20 seasons in the NFL.

"We were saddened to learn that Junior, a loving father and teammate, suffered from CTE," the family said in a statement released to the AP. "While Junior always expected to have aches and pains from his playing days, none of us ever fathomed that he would suffer a debilitating brain disease that would cause him to leave us too soon."

Seau, 43, shot himself in May and after his death, and was diagnosed with CTE, based on posthumous tests, earlier this month. The lawsuit blames the NFL for hiding the dangers of blows to the head.

"We know this lawsuit will not bring back Junior,” the family also said in the statement. “But it will send a message that the NFL needs to care for its former players, acknowledge its decades of deception on the issue of head injuries and player safety, and make the game safer for future generations."